Luctonians 5 Stourbridge 13 - full match report

Stourbridge are back in the groove

Stourbridge got back to winning ways
in Leominster with a hard-fought victory in a match where you had to pity whoever was responsible for washing the kit for either side.

This was more an exhibition of mud-wrestling than rugby and Stour coach Mike Umaga said: “That’s an understatement. Within five minutes no-one knew which side anyone was on, but both sides wanted to get the match played otherwise we are going
into May and no-one wants that.

“We
defended well and after the first 15 minutes or so we dominated the match and were unlucky not to get across the line a couple of more times.”

It was almost a shut-out until replacement prop Michael Jones went over in the final minute for Luctonians.

Umaga
said: “They hadn’t been in our 22 in the second half and whether we went to sleep or what I don’t know, but we let them in at the end. But the boys played really well and we needed a result after last week against Bromsgrove.”

With only one other match played in National League 2 North, Stour have moved
23 points clear of second-placed Hull Ionians, who have three games in hand – but Hull’s three games, and their only losses this season, are all away from home, including a clash at third-placed Darlington Mowden Park who have a 100 per cent record at home.

A
penalty by full-back Caolan Ryan on 16 minutes opened the scoring and he added another six minutes later and that is how it stayed until the 67th minute when replacement flanker Ejike Uzoigwe went over less than a
minute after replacing James Rodley.

Ryan landed the conversion and then, with Stour centre Sione Tuipulotu in the sin-bin, Luctonians gained their consolation try.